Loyalty Islands Province Environmental Code 2019: unitary principle of life

Summary

In 2016, the Loyalty Islands provincial government (located in the French territory of New Caledonia) enacted an Environmental Code recognizing the cosmovision of the Kanak peoples (the indigenous Melanesian people of New Caledonia) and that certain elements of Nature may be recognized as a legal personality with their own rights. The resulting environmental code reconciles customary law, Indigenous vision, and French law.

Legal Provisions
ARTICLE 110:
3: The unitary principle of life, which means that humankind belongs to the natural environment that surrounds it and conceives of its identity within the elements of this natural environment, constitutes the founding principle of Kanak society. In order to take into account this conception of life and Kanak social organization, certain elements of Nature may be granted legal personhood with their own rights, subject to the legislative and regulatory provisions in force.

34: The Loyalty Islands Province’s mission is to preserve the environment, and in particular its natural spaces, landscapes, resources and habitats, as well as its biodiversity and biological balance, for the benefit of current and future generations. Customary authorities are closely involved in their sustainable management.

The Code was drafted using a participatory method, through consultation with the customary authorities of the three islands comprising the Loyalty Islands (representing three different customary areas). The recognition of the rights of natural entities is therefore the result of numerous consultation meetings, aimed at adapting the concepts derived from the rights of nature to the indigenous Kanak worldview and ensuring the support of the local populations.